CHAPTER 42

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There wasn't a lot to could celebrate now that we were living in a general wasteland. Birthdays passed without much thought usually, Independence Day was a thing of the past, most of the American citizens would scowl and scoff whenever it was brought up, and Holidays were barely more than extra days off where we could just take a break from training and relax. Some people tried to maintain the memories and the joy of things like Christmas and Easter, especially the families with children, and Arthur always insisted we get a tree; it was a bit bizarre we had Christmas decorations, but I never questioned it.

The only thing that the rebellion ever celebrated was the anniversary of the Phoniks Vidroh's creation. Since Lailani had left so soon after the rebellion was founded, this would be her first time joining the celebration, and everyone was excited about that. It was conveniently the same day as my birthday, but I'd never mentioned that before, and didn't plan on bringing it up now. I didn't think it was important, it certainly wasn't more important than the military celebrating their freedom from the new world government. A day for the men and women to feel normal, to celebrate their cause.

I could only hope Maggie didn't bring it up.

When I woke up that morning, I didn't feel any older, I didn't feel the excitement for the festivities, but I knew everyone would be busy getting ready for a party, stringing lights through the settlement and bringing out instruments and old radios to play CD's that they'd hoarded for years.

Demi was incredibly confused at the crowds of people. He'd been spending so much of his free time training with Isagani that he hadn't been around the settlement, and none of us had been able to tell him about the party, so when he stepped out onto the back porch, he immediately bristled, eyes flashing around like he was searching for an enemy.

"What's going on?" he asked, and Kailas stepped up behind him, smiling.

"It's the anniversary of the rebellion's creation," he explained, winding his arms around Demi's shoulders from behind and setting his chin on top of his head, "We're celebrating. It's a way to keep the men's morale up, bringing out food and drinks that are in short supply, playing music, things like that."

"Do I have to be out here?" Demi asked, and Kailas held him tighter.

"Yes."

He immediately grumbled in irritation, and I laughed, rubbing my shoulder. Arthur had finally allowed me to take my arm out of the sling that morning, and it was still sore, the scar tissue aching, but I was happy to have my arm free again.

When arms wrapped around me from behind I didn't react, though Demi's gaze flashed over to me before narrowing, and Orion pulled me against his chest. I rolled my head back to see he was staring over the settlement with a smile on his lips.

"Well this is festive," he noted, "I heard about what was going on from Cass, it's a great idea to let the soldiers let loose."

"Yea, I figured it would be good for them," Kailas nodded, smiling, and Demi growled a little, prompting Orion to back away from me, squeezing my shoulders and quickly slipping down the stairs.

"Anyone seen Carina? I'm gonna find Carina."

I watched him go before folding my arms and turning to Demi, "Quit scaring off my man meat, they won't cuddle me in public cuz you freak them out."

"Good."

"Rude."

"So you've said."

"Alright," Kailas chuckled, nuzzling against Demi's hair, "Be nice. It would be good for you to be out here, Demi. Some of the men are still uneasy about your presence here, but if you joined in the celebration, or at least were outside for it at my side, then it would be good for your image."

"I don't care about my image," Demi mumbled, "I need to be training."

"I think Isa is taking a break from training today," Ian said, and the three of us turned to see him standing at the open door with Isagani at his heels, waving a hand.

"Yea, after hearing about this stuff, I wanted to join in. Lailani said it was a good idea to take a break and just have fun. I was gonna tell you but it took a while to find you."

Demi grumbled and slumped back against Kailas' chest, folding his arms, "Whatever."

The way Demi interacted with Isa now was a lot different than when they'd first met. I couldn't blame Demi for being uneasy of course, and after what happened with Efren, honestly, I'd been expecting Demi to completely block out the rest of his cousins, but I was happy he hadn't.

Isagani was a fantastic teacher. The first thing he decided to teach Demi was meditation, which he seemed to have some issues with, but slowly Demi was starting to control the anger that stemmed from his fear. That was good, because if he could control his fear, then it was incredibly likely that he'd be able to control his black outs as well. Being unpredictable made him dangerous, sure, but having the ability to actually control his strength made him even more terrifying.

His cousin was taking things slow, not jumping into violence or blood like Efren had done, and he was keeping his promise to Demi flawlessly. Lailani still didn't know what had happened to her son, didn't know he'd been trained by the enemy, because Isagani refused to say a word, and she had no idea he knew. I'm sure Demi appreciated it, the fact Isagani was keeping his secret, even when he came out and explained every technique they'd used to keep him submissive, including assault. The fact he could trust his cousin was probably an overwhelming fact for Demi, who still didn't feel comfortable around Efren (not surprising).

Isagani seemed utterly thrilled with the turn of events himself. He was all too happy to train Demi, talk to him, telling him stories about their family history, wars they'd been part of, the fact they'd managed to stay out of the limelight and therefore completely out of the history books. Basically, what Lailani had told us, but in more detail. Demi still didn't seem interested about that history, but he still listened.

I think Isa was just happy to have more family to be honest. He was remarkably supportive even when Demi told him about Blu, and I couldn't help but notice the way his face changed when Demi looked away. He looked fucking terrifying, like he was working out the best way to slaughter Blu. It was nice, seeing someone protective of Demi for once, someone stronger than him who could probably protect him easy with both hands tied behind his back.

Watching Demi interact with Isa was one thing, but Mahalia was even better. She wasn't too young, about Beth's age actually, but she had such a bright outlook on life that she appeared to be naïve and innocent. When I said that, Isa just laughed at me and set a hand on my shoulder, so I was pretty freaked out and didn't want to go anywhere near her while she was training.

She was in complete awe of Demi, who tried his best to spend time with her like he promised Isagani. That mainly meant he just sat there hunched a little while Mahalia talked a mile a minute about literally everything, and fought hard not to flinch when she grabbed his arm and hugged him. It was damn adorable, and seeing Demi with his family made me a lot more grateful to have mine.

Even if my fucking sister wouldn't shut the fuck up about Orion and Beckett...

Lailani was probably the happiest about Demi getting along with two thirds of his cousins, spending one on one time bonding with Isagani and training in the Andrada technique, and letting Mahalia cling to him and play with his hair, braiding sections of it and insisting he wear autumn colors because they would make his eyes pop.

I didn't know what that meant, but Demi wasn't happy about it.

He'd gone back to wearing the clothes he normally had on, all black like he was going to a funeral, so I figured that meant his existential crisis was over, but occasionally he still wore that ugly hoodie, and he was wearing that scarf more often too. I think Kailas gave it to him, which would make sense. He would pull at it or twist it around his fingers when he was nervous, holding it over his chin like it calmed him down. Maybe it was meant to help keep him from snapping?

"Dakota!" I turned sharply to see Maggie walking up to me, arms out like she wanted to hug me, "Happy-!"

"Day!" I slapped my hands onto her face, making her flinch, "Happy fucking day, you're right, now shut up!" I looked over my shoulder at Demi, "Excuse me for a moment," I said, pushing my sister down the porch and off the steps, dragging her away from the house and turning to her, "Don't just do that!"

She was rubbing her cheeks, a half scowl on her face, "Why? It's your birthday, isn't that why people are celebrating?"

"Uh, no," I held an arm out, "It's the anniversary of the Vidroh's founding, that's what we're celebrating. No one knows it's my birthday and I'd like to keep it that way, because it's not important."

"Of course it's important," Maggie dropped her hands from her face, "You're almost twenty, I'd think that was important."

"Compared to this, no," I stuffed my hands into my pockets, "This is about all of us, the military and the settlement, the rebellion and what we stand for, what we're fighting for. I don't want to be doted on just because I'm nineteen when yesterday I was eighteen. If you compare something like an age jump to the fact this is a military fighting for freedom, the answer to which is more important is pretty obvious."

Maggie sighed heavily and rolled her eyes, "Alright, alright, I won't say anything," she promised, setting her hands on her hips and frowning, "You've never like your birthday, have you?"

I laughed at that, genuinely amused, because no, I've never liked it. My mother changed her views on birthdays every few years, so I never knew what to expect, if she was going to throw an insane party, a small one, or none at all, because "birthdays were beneath the Lord". I don't know where she got that idea, but frankly I didn't care.

Every time one of our birthday's fell on a Saturday or a Sunday, she would force us to church and make us stay after the service because, since it was our birthday, we needed to pray and confess our sins even more. Again, I didn't understand her reasoning, but I didn't have much say in it.

I hated my birthday. The only time it was ever good was after I met Ronnie, because he'd sneak parties to me. He'd climb through the window in the middle of the night carrying a tiny cake and a present he either made or bought with his own money, and rarely Josie would somehow convince my mother to let me go for the day, claiming there was a religious thing going on and he wanted me to go, then driving Ronnie and I to the next town over to dick around watching movies at the theater and gorging ourselves at the pizza parlor across the street.

Damn, Josie knew today was my birthday too. I better find him before he told other people.

"Where's Josie?" I asked, and Maggie straightened before looking around.

"Uh, not sure," she admitted, rubbing her neck, "I think he's in the kitchen helping Arthur with food."

"Josie can cook?" I asked incredulously, and Maggie grinned.

"Hell yea he can. I'm surprised he was studying business, he should've gone into a culinary school instead."

"I don't think it would've mattered, either way the school would've gone boom."

My eyes dropped when Beth ran at Maggie from behind, barreling into her and pushing her face against my sister's shoulder as her arms wrapped around Maggie's waist, "Maggie!"

She squeaked and blushed, lifting her hands to Beth's arms and pulling at them, "I told you not to do that!" Beth stepped back and grinned as Maggie turned to her, folding her arms, "Don't you have better things to do than sexually harass me?"

"Not till five," Beth answered, and I lifted a hand to pinch the bridge of my nose as Maggie bristled.

"Beth, you know she's like twice your age?" I asked, and Bethany shrugged.

"So? I like older women."

"What about Mahalia?" I asked, "She's a few months older than you, so it's still technically legal."

"She's nice," Beth agreed, "but I'm not really into girly-girl's."

"Maggie used to be a girly-girl."

She turned to me, "Don't tell people about that you little shit."

I turned, "Whatever, I gotta find Josie."

Like Maggie had said, Josie was inside helping Arthur in the kitchen, rolling burritos with Gale at his side and Arthur on the other side of the table pointing out different ingredients, making sure everything was organized. We never had this much food out, my heart jumped when I saw the bottles of coke, taking one and stuffing it in my coat before anyone noticed and walking up to Josie's other side.

"What's up?" I asked, and he looked over at me before brightening.

"Hey! I wanted to talk to yo-."

I grabbed a tiny sandwich and stuffed it into his mouth before grabbing his shirt collar, smiling at Arthur, "Just gotta have a chat with him for a second, he'll be right back."

When we were in the hall I basically told him the same thing I told Maggie, and he looked pretty embarrassed as he rubbed his neck and shifted his eyes to the ceiling, "I kind of already told one or two people."

"What?"

He smiled, "Oops?"

"You're the fucking worst!" I said, throwing my arms out, and he shrugged.

"I get that you're not comfortable with lots of people focusing on you, which is why I only told a few people. Don't worry, this is still about the rebellion, they all promised not to make a big deal about it and to congratulate you quietly; and possibly tease you because you're still the youngest in the military."

"Not true, Mahalia is the youngest, and Beth is still trying to convince Arthur to let her join," I argued, holding a finger up, and he shrugged.

"Mahalia doesn't count, women have older mental ages than men do."

"Fuck you, feminist."

"Don't be a prick."

"Just go make your burritos," I threw my hands up and turned.

I didn't know who Josie told, I was kind of too terrified to ask, but I was pretty sure I could guess, and I was going to go confront Beckett as I stepped outside, pausing when I caught sight of Efren. Great, just what I needed. Just what everyone needed. I didn't know where Demi was, but if he noticed his ass cousin was talking to Kailas again, bad things might happen. I decided to get closer, stepping off the porch and inching my way into the settlement casually, taking a seat on the bench like I was waiting for someone and reaching down to play with the snow at my feet, keeping an ear open towards the right where Kailas was standing.

He looked about as enthusiastic about Efren being there as he had last time, hands in his pockets and eyes wandering around the area as Efren talked. He was obviously ignoring the Andrada, but Efren didn't seem to care much and just kept talking.

"So, you're with my dear cousin, is that it?" he asked suddenly, and Kailas tensed, "Why? Is there a reason? Or is he just a slut?"

Kailas turned to him, "Don't," he warned, and Efren arched an eyebrow in amusement.

"Don't what? Hey, I'm playing fair, aren't I? I'm fighting my dearest cousin for your affections."

"It won't me much of a fight," Kailas admitted, narrowing his eyes, "I'm not interested. I already chose Demi. You know nothing about him, or us, so please just focus on training and getting along with the rest of the military."

"Why?" Efren took a step closer, and Kailas instinctively stepped back, something somewhat familiar flashing in his green eyes as Efren backed him against the wall of the house behind him, "I like you. Isn't that enough?"

"No," Kailas disagreed, "You only like the idea of hurting Demi by taking away things that are important to him. His ease of mind, his belief in himself, me; you're jealous of him, so you attack his weak points. By beating him in a spar, you made him think he wasn't strong, made him assume he couldn't protect me, or anyone else, but that's over with. He's not as weak as you might think, and unless you want to see that strength first hand, I'd step off."

"What's he gonna do?" Efren asked with a sneer, "Assassinate me?"

Kailas tried to sidestep to get around him, but Efren reached out and placed a hand on Kailas' chest, physically shoving him against the side of the house, fingers curling into his chest, right where I knew his scar was, and grinning, light in his eyes. Kailas, on the other hand, was freaking out.

It still made me so uneasy to see him like that, so much bigger than that little prick, but completely incapable of moving because he was fucking petrified in fear. I didn't know what Efren was planning to do honestly, especially with so many people around, but I'd barely gotten to my feet and yelled at the jackass before he was suddenly not in front of Kailas anymore.

Everything had happened so quickly I had to blink and rub my eyes. Kailas was slumped against the side of the building, shaking a little, and Efren had been physically thrown across the pathway and into a bank of snow, where he was sputtering and flailing his arms and legs to get up. Demi was standing a few steps in front of Kailas, facing Efren, and his eyes were dark, utterly feral.

"Ah, fuck," I breathed, lifting a hand to my face as Efren scrambled to his feet and slapped snow from his coat, gaping at Demi.

"What the fuck was that for, you prick?!" he demanded, but Demi, of course, didn't respond.

He'd snapped, and when he was in this state of mind, he didn't have any human functions. He couldn't speak, couldn't think, the only thing I could see in his eyes was bloodlust and the desire to kill. Which was pretty badass, but not a good thing; then again, Efren deserved to get punched in the face.

"What's going on?" Isa asked from behind me, and I turned to look at him, holding a hand out.

"Efren's gonna get murdered, let's enjoy the show."

"Hey!" Efren stormed towards Demi, hands in fists and eyes wild, "You think that's funny, dear cousin? Think you're all that because you got a lucky shot in? What can you do, huh? We fought once before and I kicked your ass, remember? You want a rematch or something?!"

By then the entire settlement had gathered around, most of them were staying well away from Demi, because they knew what was about to happen, what Demi was capable of, especially when Kailas was involved, but Lailani and the rest of her group were a bit closer, as close as I was.

"Demi, sweetheart, what happened?" Lailani asked, but Demi didn't respond, and I cleared my throat, shaking my head when she looked at me.

"You can't reach him right now, but this will be educating for you," I sat back down and folded my arms, "Just stay out of the way and none of you will get hurt."

"What?" Isagani stared at me before his eyes widened in realization and he turned to face Demi, "Oh..."

Efren was in Demi's face, screaming, obviously unhappy he'd been thrown into the snow, but when he threw a fist at Demi, he didn't get nearly close enough to do any damage. Demi effortlessly lifted his arm to shift Efren's attack just a bit to the right so he stumbled, and when he was close enough, Demi head butted him in the face.

As he stumbled back, Demi attacked, and I had to cringe, because I would never get used to how barbaric he was. Luckily, he had no knives or weapons, just his fists, but that was really all he needed. It was

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